(LEAD) Hyundai Motor Q2 profit jumps 43 pct on weak won

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more figures, details, stock price)
SEOUL, July 23 (Yonhap) -- Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea's largest automaker,
said Thursday that its second-quarter profit jumped 48.4 percent from the same
period a year before thanks to a weakened local currency.
Hyundai earned 811.8 billion won (US$649.7 million) in the three months ended
June 30, compared with a profit of 546.9 billion won a year earlier, the company
said in a regulatory filing.
The bottom line was far above market expectations. The median forecast by
analysts surveyed by Yonhap Infomax, the financial news arm of Yonhap News
Agency, was for 564 billion won.
Coupled with the local currency's weakness against the U.S. dollar, analysts had
expected the growing popularity of smaller and more fuel-efficient cars worldwide
during the economic downturn to contribute to the better-than-expected results.
The won fell some 20 percent against the U.S. dollar in the April-June period,
compared with the same period a year ago.
A weaker won makes it easier for Hyundai to cut prices abroad to attract customers.
Second-quarter operating profit, however, fell 0.8 percent to 657.2 billion won.
Sales fell 11.3 percent to 8.07 trillion won.
In the first six months of this year, Hyundai's vehicle sales fell 6.2 percent to
1.38 million units as the company grappled with the auto industry's worst global
downturn.
But analysts say Hyundai is better positioned to navigate the global economic
slump due to the fact that its line-up is focused on small cars.
On Wednesday, Hyundai and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. said they would invest
4.1 trillion won by 2013 to develop fuel-efficient cars and cut carbon emissions.

Shares of Hyundai Motor declined 1.68 percent to 82,800 won in early afternoon
trading in Seoul.
(END)